Car construction



April 19,

J. A. RABUCK 1,855,117 GAR CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 9, 1929 ing material, such as sand, chats, gravel, etc.-

Patentecl Apr. 19, 1932 UNITED STATES JOHN A. RABUCK, F LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY- CAR CONSTRUCTION Application filed November 9, 1929. Serial No. 405,959.

My invention relates'to the construction of railway freight cars, and more particularly to that type of gondola car wherein a portion of the fioor consists of doors hinged to the car body so that they may be dropped to discharge part of the lading. Such cars are used largely to transportcoal and ballast- By nature of their requirements railway freight train cars are out of doors substantially all of the time, therefore, are subjected to corrosive action of the elements, and while paint and other non-corrosive coatings have applied to both the load carrying members,v

such as the sills, plates and'diaphragms and also tothe lading retaining members, such as side and end walls, floors, hoppers, hopper doors, etc. Ithas been found that cast metal,

particularly cast steel,has more than twice the resistance to corrosion than rolled steel,

' therefore, one of the objects of the invention is to make the door frame of cast metal, preferably cast steel, to enable it to resist corrosion, and furthermore, to produce a construction wherein'the. metal can be disposed and positioned to accommodate the stresses set up by the car in service. Such a cast construction necessitates a minimum amount of material for strength requirements.

Another object is to eliminate the cost'and delay in fabricating the numerous component parts of the present structural steel door frame.

Another object of forming the door frame of cast metal is toeliminate the possibility of loose connections which would permit relative motion between the component parts of thelframe, as it is common knowledge that the vibration of the car, in motion, due to roughand uneven track, and steel wheels rolling on steel rails, together with longer trains and high speeds in present day practice, cause riveted jointsand built up sections to Work loose'and the railroads look with favor upon any device which reduces the number of parts and joints-asthey are the weak parts ofthe car and the more'such weak parts are eliminated, the longer the life of the car. M I

Another object of the invention is to provide a frame for the door opening which also is capable of resisting the torsional and weaving movements of the car in service, which movements tend to distort the car out of shape. Such distortion not only'weakens the car structure, but also prevents the doors from properly closing the door opening, allowing a leakage ofvthe lading.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 shows a typical plan view of my de vice applied to a railway car. c A Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2of Fig. 1'; Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

In the drawings the usual car parts are shown, such as center sill 1; cover plate 2; side wall'3; side sill 4; ,door 5;.cross bearer 6 and side stake/7.

My cast metal frame consists of a unitary member entirely surrounding the door opening and having portions secured to the side sill 4:, side wall 3,]cross bearer 6 and floor 8,

respectively, so as to reinforce the car structure to resist the weaving stresses of the car in service. The cast metal frame 9 is also provided with a continuous preferably flush portion 10 against which the door rests when in closed position, which portionis provided with a preferably continuous stiffening flange 12, which flange may also be used as means for attaching the frame to the adjacent car part. It will be noted that across section ofeach side andfend portion of the frame constitutes an angle, that is, portions at right angles toeach other which forms a very rigid structure.

The door is preferably supported from the frame by hinge lugs 13 which are cast inteto be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described,as it is obvious, that various modifications thereof within the scope of the claims will occur to persons skilled in the art. I claim:

1. Ina railway gondola car,th.e combination of a center construction, a side wall, a

- substantially horizontal floor, a door opening in said floor, and a cast metal door frame surrounding said opening secured to said center construction and secured to said side Wall. V

2. In a railway gondola car, the combination of a center construction, a side wall, a substantially horizontal floor, a cross bearer, a door opening in said floor, and a cast metal door frame surrounding said opening overlying and secured to said'center' construction and overlying .and secured to said side wall and secured to said cross bearer.

3. In a railway gondola car, the combination of a center construction, a side wall, a substantially horizontal floor, a cross bearer,

a door opening in said floor, and a cast metal 7 door frame surrounding said opening having horizontal portlons and vertical flanges, sald door frame secured to said center construcmg and having portions underlying and setion and secured to said side wall, and secured to said cross bearer.

4. In a railway gondola car, the comblnation of a center construction, a side wall,

a cross bearer, a substantially horizontal floor, a door opening in said floor, a cast metal door frame surrounding said opening, said frame having integral hinge butts, adjacent said cross bearer.

' 5. In a railway gondola car, the combination of a center construction, a side wall, a

in said floor, a cast metal door frame surrounding said opening having horizontal portions and vertical flanges.

'6. In a railway gondola car, the combination of a center construction, a side wall, a substantially horizontal floor, a cross bearer, a door opening in said floor, and a cast metal door frame surrounding said opening secured to said center construction, secured to said side wall, and secured to said cross bearer.

7. In a railway gondola car, the combination of a center construction, aside wall, a substantially horizontal floor, across bearer,

adoor opening in said floor, and a cast metal door frame surrounding said openingsecured to said center construction, secured to said side wall, and secured to said cross bearer at one side and to the floor at the opposite side.

8. In a railway car having a center construction, a side wall, and a floor, the combination of a cast frame surrounding a door opening and having portions underlying and secured to said floor adjacent said opening, said frame having an extension overlying and secured to said center construction.

9. In a railway car having a center construction, a side wall, and a floor, the combination of a cast metal frame surrounding a door opening and having portions underlying and securedto said floor adjacent said opening, said frame having an upstanding flange secured to the side wall. v

10. In arailway car having a'center construction, a side wall, a cross bearer, and a floor, the combination of a cast metal frame surrounding a door opening and having portions underly ng and secured to said floor adjacent said opening,said frame having a flange secured to said cross bearer.

11. In a railway car having a center construction, a side wall, a cross bearer, and a floor, the combination of a castmetal frame surrounding a door opening and having portions underlying and secured to said floor adjacent said opening, said frame having an extension overlying and secured to said center construction, a flange secured to said cross bearer and an upstanding flange secured to the side wall. I 12. In a railway car having a center construction and a floor, the combinationof a cast metal frame surrounding a dooropencenter construction. I p 13. In a railwaycar having a center construction and a floor, the combination of a, cast metal frame surroundlnga door open ing and having portions underlying andsecured to said floor ad acent said opening, said frame having, an extension forming'thefloor substantially horizontal floor, a door opening 5 the car between he door p g a e center construction and another extension forming the fioor of the car between the door opening and the side wall. 1

JOHN A. RABUCK. 

